IMPORTANT: The 2023 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival for our parish will be held in-person on Saturday and Sunday, March 11-12, 2023.

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In early spring each year, Church Schools under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America organize parish-level St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festivals named in honor of the great orator of the Church, St. John Chrysostom.

These parish-level St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festivals provide students in 7th through 12th Grade with the opportunity to select a topic (from those offered each year by the Archdiocese), write a speech, and deliver their speech to their fellow students, parents, and a panel of judges who score them for content and delivery.
The top-scorer (finalist) from each parish-level Oratorical Festival advances to the District Level, whose top-scorer advances to the Metropolis Level, and from there the top-scorer advances to the Archdiocese (National) Level.
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At our St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, all Church School students, from Preschool to 12th Grade, participate in our parish-level St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival.

Church School Oratorical Webpage

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INTRODUCTION

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Introduced in 1983, the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival provides Greek Orthodox teenagers the opportunity to write and talk about their faith. The Oratorical Festival Program begins at the parish level and is divided into three divisions:
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1. Elementary Division (local festival only) for students in grades 4–6
2. Junior Division for students in grades 7–9
3. Senior Division for student in grades 10–12

The top speakers in the Junior and Senior Divisions advance to the district level. Two finalists in each district division represent the district at the Metropolis Oratorical Festival. The top speaker in each metropolis division is then selected to participate in the Archdiocese Finals, which is hosted by a different metropolis each year.

All eighteen finalists at the Archdiocese Finals participate in a weekend of activities, the highlight of which is the delivery of their speeches on Saturday morning. The Oratorical Festival Scholarship Fund provides college scholarships to the top speakers. Currently, the top three speakers of each division receive college scholarships of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000. This year, each Honorable Mention speaker was awarded $500.

Parish-Level Information

Archdiocese Information

CONTACT

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Please address questions to our St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival program chairperson:
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Anastasia Mitropoulos-Rundus
Email

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